The Orange Child
by PokebratJ
Summary: Years before Frisk either saves or destroys the underground society of monsters, a boy falls through the mountain into their home. He is adventurous, foolish, and brave. And nothing can stop him from exploring the underground.
1. Chapter 1

**The Orange Child**

 **Ch 1: The Fall**

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: Just so then you guys understand, this is taking a few years before the events of the actual Undertale, and I only own the main character, James Diamond, who is around 12, and a monster you'll meet later. The rest of them belong to Toby Fox. Thanks, and I hope you guys enjoy this story!**

August 12, 200X

Mt. Ebott

Everything was stiff. I slowly opened my eyes and took in my surroundings. All around me were stone walls. When looking up, I saw the cause of my discomfort. Above me was a giant hole that let in little sunlight. The way I came into this place.

 _Must have been a hundred foot drop,_ I thought. "I'm surprised I'm even alive." I tried standing up, but a sharp pain shot itself up from my ankle. _Shit, twisted._ To be honest, it's lucky I got away with that and not something permanent. Like death.

I pulled out the bandana I always had on my arm, like Zoro from One Piece, and grabbed a stick near me to make a makeshift splint. It still hurt, but not as much. I looked around in more detail and found a small tunnel.

"Might as well. Can't go up."

As I traveled along the only path, I came to a cavern, with a smiling flower. Now, I had heard rumors of monsters on the mountain, but I didn't really expect to see one. That's when I noticed it's beady eyes on me.

"Howdy, friend," it beamed. "I'm Flowey. Flowey the Flower!" Taken aback by the talking plant, I did the most logical thing to do.

"I-I'm James Diamond." I looked around, trying to see if anyone was playing a prank on me. No one.

"Well, I can see you're new here, so let me show you how things around here work, friend!" Something about his voice didn't make me sure he was a friend. A small white pellet flew from Flowey and floated in mid air. "These are friendship pellets, and are meant to merge with your soul. If you don't know how to bring out your soul, just focus really hard about it in your hand."

Not knowing what else to do, I imagined a soul in my hands. After a while, I was rewarded with a brilliant orange heart floating in my hands. It was warm and glowing like a star. _Is this my soul?_

"There you go, pal!" said the flower. "Now these have just gotta touch your soul, and you'll be _rewarded_ my friend." That scared me more that before. Three of the pellets flew towards me and, on reflex, moved to the side, dodging the floating balls of magic. Flowey was not a happy… what kind of flower was he anyway? His somewhat friendly face turned into that of one you would see on a demon-flower-monster-thing.

"You know what's going on here, don't you, pal? Then try dodging this!" In a blink of an eye, I was surrounded by those white things. I looked around, but didn't see a way out of them. _Shit!_ His laugh was like the devil inhaled helium from a blimp. "In this world, pal, _it's kill or be killed!_ "

I had an idea. A stupid, _stupid_ idea.

I put my soul back, pulled out my gloves and got ready, hoping that having take up boxing would help. The pellets were slowly coming closer. I waited for them to get closer. _Wait. Wait… Now!_

I rushed forward, the pellets digging into my flesh, trying to keep me from moving forward. "Wow, aren't you an idiot, pal!" The magic used in these were pushing me back, but I wasn't done. I continued to take step after step, the pellets digging deeper into my flesh. "W-what are you doing?" I felt my blood dripping down my chest onto the ground. "J-just stop!" I was a foot away from where the demonic flower was. I lifted my fist.

" _GO TO HELL!_ " And I punched…

The ground.

I dropped to my knees, no longer feeling the magic invading my body. I swear I had heard somebody calling out. Falling onto my stomach, I took the most well deserved nap of my life.

I jolted up from where I was sleeping. _What the hell just happened?_ _Was that just a weird dream._ I turned to see my surroundings, instantly rewarding me with a sharp pain all up my body. Looking down, I saw that my torso was covered in bandages.

The room around me was covered in blue wallpaper with a magenta stripe through the middle. A wardrobe that was filled with green shirts (of which I was sure wouldn't fit me well) and small shoes. A desk with a journal was on the wall to my right. The bed I was in was on the left wall. The wall in front of me only had the door.

I carefully got up, as not to further my injuries, when I smelled something cooking. I walked to the door and opened it to reveal a hallway with cat tail plants, and a mirror. I looked at my reflection, checking to see if I was horribly deformed.

Deformity was a no. My dark brown hair nearly came down to my eye brows, threatening to cover my hazel eyes. I had a clean bandage wrapped around my head, probably applied recently. I also had a bandage on my cheek, which stung as I touched it. "Not too bad, really," I said. "Considering the circumstances."

"Well, I'm happy you like it." Jumping back, I looked for the source of the voice. A large, anthropomorphic goat woman in a purple dress was standing near the room I was just in. "How are you feeling, my child?"

After being nearly slaughtered by a demonic flower, I could handle this with surprising ease. "I've been better, but I really can't complain. Did you patch me up?" She smiled as I gave my answer, thankful that I was alive.

"That is good to hear. My name is Toriel," she said to me. So monster one was a demon flower, and monster two was a motherly goat. I am having mixed feelings about this underground society. "Are you hungry?"

I nodded and followed her through the house. Toriel asked me to wait in a room with a bookshelf, a rocking chair, and a very neat table. I stood by a fireplace, warming myself up. The room simply glowed warmly. Kind of like what a home should feel like.

Toriel walked in with a large pie, the smell was making my mouth water. Then my brain tried reasoning with me.

 _You just got dunked on by a flower that was trying to act friendly, but then tried killing you. Now you have a goat woman who is acting motherly, and you want to eat the food that she is giving you? Are you seeing a pattern here?_

 _Shut up_ , my stomach said. _It smells delicious!_ Welp, I was won over. Suck it brain!

She gave me a fairly decent piece (one that would usually be a bit too big for other people). "It's butterscotch and cinnamon flavored. I wasn't sure which you prefered, so I made them both." Toriel laughed and rubbed the back of her head. "It's my first time making a pie like this, to be honest." So at that, I grabbed a fork and dug in.

…

It was delicious! At first it tasted like cinnamon but the flavor slowly turned into butterscotch! This may even be better than that pickle wrapped in bacon and venison that I tried last year. I looked up and saw Toriel eating a slice almost as big as mine.

I swallowed the pie in my mouth. "Thank you, it's amazing," I told her. She seemed to blush at the compliment. "Oh, I forgot. Name's James."

"Well, it's very nice to meet you, James," she replied. "May I ask how you got into the underground?"

I put down my fork and told her about how me and my 'friends' were playing a game of truth or dare. I had chosen dare, and I was to go to the top of Mt. Ebott. "Though I seem to have ended up at the bottom," I said, feeling a little stupid for ignoring the sign and legend of it. But hey, can you blame me? I saw keep out signs as more of suggestions rather than warnings.

Toriel laughed again, sounding like a bell ringing.

We chatted more into the night (or day, I couldn't tell) until I started getting tired and went to the room I had been staying in.

All in all, I thought this was a nice place to be. Sure a demented flower ruined the welcome, but the new home I was in felt kind and loving.

Huh, home. Lord knew where I was before wasn't a home. Just a building filled with people who I wished were more like Toriel. Staying here may not be a bad thing. Not bad at all…

Over the next few weeks, I was getting healthier and could travel into a place that Toriel called the ruins. The monsters there were very friendly and Toriel often sent me to pick up sweets from the spider bakery. Despite the management, they had amazing baked goods.

On the occasion that she allowed me to go to the marketplace, I disguised myself with some grey face paint and orange paper mache horns. I honestly thought that I looked like a character from Homestuck, and the monsters were none the wiser. She even gave me a phone!

One day, I decided to ask Toriel about something that had been on my mind for a while now. "Why is it that those stairs are blocked off?"

Toriel put down what I believed was her coffee. She looked at me with sad eyes. "It leads to outside the ruins, my child." I nearly dropped my jaw. _There was more to the underground!_

"But," she continued. "There are many over there who would kill you, if given the chance." She realized that I was older than the humans she had met before, and didn't hide the not nice bits of things. "So it is off limits."

"But Toriel," I pleaded. "Can't I just go out and explore for a little while? A few minutes couldn't hurt!" Toriel gave me a stern glare, causing me to be quiet.

"I said no, James." She put a hand on my head and smiled softly. "I know you are brave and adventurous, but here, in the ruins, is safer. Your foot may be better, but you could hurt yourself in a serious way. And I don't want that for you." I looked up at her. "Do you promise to not to go down there?"

I nodded. "I'll try not to." I never made a promise I couldn't keep, so I said that I would try, because there is always the off chance that you could fail to do it. Such as raising your grade or finishing a book.

Or going to giant stone doors underneath your house.

When Toriel had went to bed, I waited for thirty minutes before descending the flight of stairs as quietly as I could. After getting to the bottom, I followed the dark hallway until I came upon a large chamber, two massive doors before me. I didn't touch them, but I did read the inscription on the wall next to it.

 _Beyond here is the town of Snowdin._

 _Please be wear warm clothing if not made of ice._

I looked around the room, finding nothing else of importance, when I heard footsteps behind me.

"I told you not to come down here." I turned to the woman who has acted as a mother to me for these past weeks. Toriel's face was wet from her crying. "If you go beyond here, then you'll… then you'll…" She covered her mouth and sobbed.

"I need to see what's beyond these doors, Toriel," I told her. "I can handle myself."

"And what if you can't," she screamed. "What if you die and they take your soul! What do you think will happen to me? I can't lose another!" The tears were flowing from her face now.

I cracked my wrist, a little tic I have when I'm nervous. I looked at her, my gaze hopefully showing that I would not back down. "I won't let that happen," I said. She calmed down enough to stop shaking.

Toriel wiped her face and just stared. It went on for a while until she broke the silence. "Then prove it," she said. "Prove to me that you will survive!" Her hands erupted into flames, a sad look in her eyes.

Putting on my gloves, I got into a fighting stance. Because I trusted her, I let my soul float next to me. This is my decision, and I am sticking to it.

Then I was surrounded by fire.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Orange Child**

 **Ch 2: The Snow**

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you guys so much for the support from Chapter 1! I am going to continue to put these out as fast as possible, so I may post one next week or next month, so you have been warned. As I said before, I only own James and the little monster showing up next, everything else belongs to Toby Fox. Again, thank you guys so much.**

November 5, 200X

The Ruins

I have come to the realization that fighting a fire wielding, anthropomorphic goat woman may have been a bad idea.

I had to drop my jacket in order for it to not get as burned as it could've been. Toriel was flinging fireballs, this 'test' of hers was seeming like she had some steam to blow off. So far, I could only dodge, but I was noticing a pattern in her attacks.

Keep moving to live.

I ducked under one fireball, sidestepped another, and jumped over a third. All the while, Toriel was crying.

Now, if I wanted to, I could rush in and pummel her, but I was taught by my uncle, the only likable member of my family, that I should only beat up those that deserve it. But looking at Toriel, I realized that she didn't deserve any of this. She was just being a mother who is trying to prove a point to a child.

Duck, side, over. Side, duck, side. Gotta keep moving. Within a minute, I was right up to her stomach.

A voice started talking in my head, telling me all my options to win the battle.

I could struck her in the solar plexus, giving me enough time for more deadly hits. An uppercut to her chin, possibly breaking her jaw and dizzying her. Strike at the legs to bring her down, giving me the advantage.

I did none of that.

Instead, I rushed and hugged her, crying myself. "I don't want to hurt you, Mom!"

She stopped throwing fireballs and fell to her knees, holding me for dear life. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…" We just sat there, holding each other. Neither of us wanting to let go any time soon. I don't know how long we were sitting there, but eventually we had to let go.

Toriel looked into my eyes, and gave me a sad smile. "If that is what you want, then I give you permission. But first, no child of mine is walking in that." I laughed and looked down at my clothes. My shirt looked as though a bear on fire had played tug-of-war with it, and my pants didn't look any better. Looking over, I saw that my jacket was covered in soot, but nothing too bad.

I grabbed her hand as we went up to the house. Getting into the shower, I washed off all that was capable of being removed. But I had this burn scar right over my heart. Not that I am complaining, it looked pretty badass! Letting the water wash over me, I thought. _What if Mom is right, and I died out there. What if…_

I punched the wall. No, I had made my decision and was going to stick to it, dammit!

Getting out of the shower, I found a pile of clothes waiting for me. There was a green turtle neck with two yellow stripes across the chest and stomach, and a fresh pair of jeans. My jacket looked clean, but with a new feature. On the left side, was a small, orange heart sewn onto it. Touching it, I smiled. I saw my gloves and bandana were also clean and inside the pocket. I got dressed and headed to my room.

I got a bag that was being used in the storage room that Mom had been planning to refurbish for a while now. I put an extra pair of clothes in, a water bottle, and a book or two. When I got into the hallway, she was waiting for me.

She hugged me very tightly. "Promise me you'll be safe," she told me. I dislodged from the embrace and looked her in the eyes.

"I promise we'll see each other again," I proclaimed with a stupid grin on my face. She smiled and rubbed my head.

She then used magic to make my horns seem real and gave me face paint that only come off with a special salve.

Then I walked out of the ruins through the large doors, which promptly closed behind me. A loud click telling me that it would be virtually impossible to turn back. Well, only way now is forward.

The tunnel I was following had little to no light in it, so it was difficult to walk three feet without running into a wall. Then the cavern appeared in front of me, light pouring in from the ceiling, shining on a bed of grass.

And Flowey.

"So," the flower said. "You got away without having killing anyone. Good for you. Just, good for you." His face then contorted to a messed up smile, beady eyes glaring at me. "But in this world, it's kill or be killed, pal. Ain't nothing you can do will change that! Every monster down here will be after your blood! And your stupid disguise won't be enough for here!"

I walked right past him, letting him talk. I didn't have time for his shit.

"Last chance for my advice, pal," he said. I stopped and turned. Might as well appease him. "Sooner or later, you'll meet the king, and you will have to kill him to get out of this ant hill. And if you don't win, he'll take your soul."

"Then I won't let him," I told him and walked away.

"Have fun, six," he said, and then I heard a pop. Probably him running away, but I didn't care. Ahead of me was my destination.

Snowdin.

So I am good with the cold. Love it, in fact. But what I walked into made my spine shiver.

Surrounding me were snow covered trees, obscuring my view of the sk- ceiling. How _did_ these trees grow without sunlight?

Well, considering what I was wearing on my face, I shouldn't be surprised.

But this forest was giving me the creeps, so I kept moving. Because that's all I can do at this point. Gotta keep moving. I jumped over a log in the relatively clean path, still taking in my surroundings. Man, magic sure would solve a lot of problems. I mean, making wea-

 _CRACK!_

Doing the fastest 180 or my life, I saw the log broken in half. No other footprints than mine.

"All righty then," I told myself nervously. "Just gonna keep on walking…" I've gotta get out of this forest! I started jogging when I saw the bridge. The only problem was that I looked almost too big to go through the bars without falling off into the ravine.

Then I heard laughing.

I stopped dead in my tracks, both curious and afraid of the person (or monster. Bah, I needed to get the hang of this terminology!) that was behind me. Then the voice spoke again.

"Kid," he said. "Don't you know it's not nice to walk away from a new friend, pal. Turn around and shake my hand." Slowly I turned to the figure, and saw that he was wearing a blue hoodie, the hood covering most of his face, his hand extended to me. Against my better judgment, I grabbed it and-

 _PFFFFFT!_

I just stood there, most likely looking stupid, which happened a lot, as the figure just died laughing before me. Or, maybe I'd have to use different wording for the plump skeleton rolling on the ground at my feet.

"Um, who are you," I stated with the utmost confidence that I was confused. The skeleton stopped laughing for a while before getting back to his feet, which had slippers on them. And people said _I_ made weird choices.

"Name's Sans, kid," he said to me. "Resident lazy bones of the underground. You got a name?"

I nodded and told him. "Name's James. And it sure is refreshing that the one following me has a good sense of humor."

"Yeah, well, dear old pops always said that I have a very big _funny bone._ " I swear that as soon as Sans said that, I heard an annoyed scream further down the road. "And _tibia_ honest, I think my brother is jealous." Another scream. Seriously, what was that?

"So," I started. "Any way to get over the bridge without almost falling off?" The skeleton scratched at his chin, the bones around his eyes closing like eyelids. Welp, at least he wasn't a weirdo.

"Well, I've got this short cut, if you want it?"

I shrugged. "Sure, why not?" Sans then grabbed my hand, no sound this time, and I felt weightless all of a sudden.

Then I puked.

"Hey hey," Sans almost growled. "Not on the skeleton." I finished up and wiped my mouth.

"Sorry. Motion sickness. Can't get on anything without throwing up." Looking around, I saw that we were on the other side of the bridge.

He can _teleport_! That was so unfair. Must be like hell trying to fight him if he can do that.

"Eh, not a problem, kid." He gave me a napkin from his jacket, which I gladly took. Wiping off the remaining gunk from my face, I followed him.

Then I asked myself if the face paint was coming off! _Crap, the only reason that he hasn't killed me yet is probably because I looked like a monster! If he sees my face-_

"What exactly are you." The question stopped me dead in my tracks. _Shit!_ "See, me and bro are skeletons, Alphys is a drake, Undyne is a merrow, and the king is a puca. But what are you, exactly?" What's a puca? You know what, I won't even bother with that.

"I'm a troll…" I said, hopefully not as nervously as I was feeling. "Just decided to come out of the ruins and take a look around." Sans just stared at me, like he was judging me, one eye slightly glowing brighter than the other. I needed to at like he didn't get under my skin.

Walking down the road, I called out behind me. "You wanna come or do I have to carry you?"

He shrugged and followed me.

Most awkward twenty minutes of my life.

"So," he said. "How did you get to be level nineteen?" Level? "Because I just heard of pretty weak monsters in there." Then he stared at me, both eyes fully black. "Enough for a human to slaughter them all." Oh God, he thinks I killed them! Wait, he suspects I'm a human!

Well, time for more lies!

"Well, I just trained very hard and then, boom! Level nineteen! Going to try to get to twenty soon." He just silently judged me, his pupils back. This guy is going to kill me eventually!

"BROTHER," I heard from in front of me. A significantly larger skeleton wearing armor was standing in what I assumed was a heroic pose. "WHY ARE YOU LATE FOR TRAINING! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAS GROWN TIRED OF WAITING!" Well, at least he was easy to hear. "AND WHO ARE YOU, GREY ONE? HAS MY BROTHER CAUGHT YOU UP IN HIS LAZINESS, TOO?" Grey one? Oh! He was talking to me!

"Said his name's James, Paps," Sans said. "And I was walkin' him to town before we got _snowdin_ at the post." And thus concluded the mysterious shouts. And at this point, I am just done figuring out the logic of this place.

"WELL," Papyrus started. "IT SEEMS THAT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL HELP MY LAZY-BONES BROTHER ESCORT YOU TO THE VILLAGE OF SNOWDIN!" Man was he flamboyant. Another big word! "COME, GREY ONE!" And with that, we started (again) walking through the caverns.

I was also noticing the personalities of them. While Sans was laid-back and low-key, Papyrus was on the other spectrom. He was uptight and the center of attention. They seemed like the perfect siblings.

And I truly envied that about them.

If I could use one word to describe Snowdin, it would be 'Wow.' That was all that needed to be said, really.

The houses gave off this warm, welcoming light that shined in the dark that had come, somehow. And the people! I have given up trying to keep calling them monsters, except for the flower, because they were all nicer than most humans!

If they are the monsters, then why is it that we were worse than them?

When Sans saw my look at the town, I saw him smile. Not a forced smile, like he had when we met, but one of those that he saved for Papyrus. "Like the sight, kid?" I nodded. Was that a Christmas tree! That's amazing!

"Yeah, never gets old. This place is calming. Tranquil, even."

"BUT IT LACKS THE GREATNESS WHEN I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, IS NOT AROUND." Certainly is a lot quieter without him. "WHAT SHALL YOU WANT TO DO, GREY ONE? PERHAPS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL INTRODUCE YOU TO UNDYNE?" Who?

"Pap," Sans said, saving me from replying. "James here is probably pretty hungry after the _shin_ -anigans we pulled." And at least Papyrus groaned at that one. "We'll be at Grillby's if you need us." And with that, I was dragged to the one, and possibly only, diner/bar in the underground.

And it seemed as though Sans was a regular, because everyone know him. The bartender, who was made of _fire,_ got two burgers out when we came inside. Me and the skeleton sat down at the bar when the food came. And did I eat! The stuff tasted amazing!

"Now James," Sans said. "I know that you aren't a monster." Well, shit. "But you aren't exactly one of those humans that prey on the weak. Am I right?" Not knowing what else to do when my mouth was full, I nodded. "Good. Good..."

"What I wanted to ask you is, can you not reveal yourself to Paps." Wait, what? "There were six kids that came before you, five that have had their souls taken. Paps is a human hunting fanatic, and it would make his day to see a human for the first time, but I want it to be number eight. The last soul we need to be free."

I finished my burger and Sans handed me his, which was covered in ketchup, as I continued listening.

"I promised someone that I would protect any human from harm. But your level worried me that you had killed them." Completely understandable. "So sorry if I seemed kind of…"

"Scary," I said. "Terrifying. It's cool, Sans. I understand. If I saw someone who looked like a murderer, I would act the same." He sighed at that, the tension leaving his shoulders.

After that, we sat in relative silence, the music and talking of the other people filling the air. It was nice.

At least we both somewhat understood each other. Kind of. Maybe. Hopefully…

He still makes me a little nervous, but he is respectable. After all, laziness may be the mother of all bad habits, but she is ultimately a mother and should therefore be respected. He just cracked up at that one.

He gave me a final warning, make sure that I _do not_ get near Undyne. Now to figure out who-

A large bundle of fur and limbs ran right into me, knocking me down. Looking up, I saw a reptilian face in said bundle, lying on my chest. "Hi," she, I'm guessing it's a she, said excitedly. "I'm Tanya! You're new here! Who are you?"

My God is she cute!


	3. Chapter 3

The Orange Child Ch 3: The Little Girl

AUTHOR'S NOTE: As I have said before, I'm trying to get these out as fast as I can, so I'm sorry that I got lost on the path of life during finals. On the other note, you'll finally get to know about my monster oc and her cute, lizardy self. Everything else belongs to Toby Fox. Now on with the story!

November 6, 200X

Snowdin

I just stared at the small child resting on my chest, just staring at me, waiting for a response. From what was showing, she was reptilian with a black ponytail and big, yellow eyes. She smiled, revealing rows of very sharp teeth.

All in all, she was adorable!

"I'm James." Then she started talking about a hundred mph.

"That'scoolI'mTanyaandIamfiveyearsoldandIloveyourhornsand-" I covered her mouth up before she could speak any more.

"Slow down, think about your words, then tell me." I removed my hand and she took a huge breath. Couldn't she breath through her nose?

"You are so cool! Almost as cool as Undyne! I saw you hanging out with Papyrus so you must be cool!"

"Well, thanks," I said, rubbing the back of my head. "Now, can you please get off me?" She looked at the situation and quickly got off, with difficulty. Most likely due to the large amount of clothing on her. She shook herself off and waited as I stood up and popped my back. And the lizard girl was just staring. "Do you need something?"

She jumped up and down a few times and answered. "Imma follow you so I can see other cool monsters!" She slipped in one of her jumps and landed on her face, the coats she was wearing moving to reveal a green tail and legs that reminded me of a T-rex. Wait…

She's a T-rex! That, in my book, earned her a very nice golf clap and a lollipop. "Well," I started. "I don't think that you'll be tough enough to follow me, Tanya. It might get dangerous." That, to some extent, was true. And her eyes just had stars in them, about to burst out of her.

"That's so cool!" And thus, I discovered her favorite word. She reminded me of a small Papyrus, but less loud and more… fleshy. "Now I wanna see you and Papyrus fight!"

"N-no," I said. "I don't really want to hurt him." That earned me a frown.

"Awww…"

Then the worst thing possible happened.

"DON'T WORRY, GREY ONE." Oh you have got to be kidding me. "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WOULD BE HAPPY TO FIGHT YOU!" I turned to see Papyrus and Sans looking at me and Tanya. She let out a cry of joy. And Sans just gave me a silent message to go easy on him.

I did not want to fight him, but when you have to cinnamon rolls practically begging, you can't turn them down.

"I-if you're up for it, Paps…"

"NYEHEHE! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL DEMONSTRATE MY ADVANCED FIGHTING PROWESS TO YOU, GREY ONE!" And with that, he motioned me to follow him, running where I believe is east of town.

I sighed and followed, the other two following closely behind. This is going to end wonderfully, I thought.

We were standing on the outskirts of the town near the river. Papyrus and Tanya had made a large circle in the snow for us to fight in. Papyrus had once again struck a heroic pose and kept 'nyeh'-ing, while Sans and Tanya were cheering, trying to not say which side they were on.

But before that, There was one thing I had to take care of. "Hey, Papyrus." The large skeleton stopped and gave me his full attention. "Can you please not hit my horns," I asked. "They're kind of… sensitive."

"FEAR NOT, GREY ONE, FOR YOUR HORNS SHALL NOT BE TOUCHED PURPOSEFULLY!" Now that that's settled, I get into a fighting stance and blocked out all sound. Wait, did he say purposefully?

Too late, because he had already summoned and threw multiple bones at me. I had barely dodged those when he sent another barrage at me.

Thinking fast, I grabbed one of the bones in mid flight and used it like a sword, protecting myself. Kind of.

...I may have underestimated the quirky skeleton, but that wouldn't stop me. I started noticing a pattern in the attacks and kept moving forward, then some came spinning like a boomerang at me. I used the bone I had to block them, but one of them hit me in the right arm, sending up a jolt of pain.

Then the blue bones showed up.

At first, I didn't think anything of them, and ducked underneath one, but what seemed like a barrier hit me as I passed under it, sending me flying back a few feet.

"NYEHEHE! SO YOU HAVE TASTED THE POWER OF MY SPECIAL ATTACK!" I groaned and got up, making sure the horns were still on my head. Good.

I rushed forward, taking the skeleton by surprise, and thrust my sword forward, before he made a wall of bones protecting him. Now that was unfair! Then my bone broke. Doubly unfair!

Then a thought came to me. If these are just bones, then I can just break them! I mean, they can't be made out of steel, right? I punched a few of them, and got a satisfying crunch for my efforts, then they sunk back into the ground and Papyrus fired more at me.

Dodging the mix of white and blue bones, I made my way forward to Papyrus when he summoned his wall again. And, to my favor for once, the bones had cracks in them. I striked at them until they broke and I got within five feet of him.

Finish him, said a small voice in my head, but before I could even judge it, I felt suspended in mid air. I turned to see Sans with one glowing eye and his hand slightly covered in blue. Sans you as-

And then Papyrus sent a bone straight to my face, sending me flying into a nearby tree. And all the snow on it falling onto me.

"Uughhh…" Were backs or heads meant to hurt this much?

I then felt hands lifting me up, so I opened my eyes to see Papyrus and Tanya pulling me out of the snow pile. "ARE YOU ALRIGHT GREY ONE? WAIT, WHERE IS YOUR HORN?"

I reached up and felt that, indeed, one of them had broken off, leaving a hollow base. I jumped back into the pile to try and find the missing piece of my disguise to no avail. Welp, no Papyrus might realize that I was a hu-

"WILL IT GROW BACK?" Hope has now returned! And now to further this game of lies in which I have been playing. Because when you start, you just can't seem to stop!

"Well, you see Paps," I said. "For trolls, it takes a very long time for them to grow back. But let's not dwell on the loss of a horn." Or my pride. "That was a pretty cool move you did, with the blue thing!" Now he has taken a heroic pose, and I kid you not I thought I saw sparkles coming from him.

"BUT OF COURSE YOU WOULD FIND IT AMAZING, GREY ONE. FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE MASTERED THE BLUE ATTACK WITH AMAZING MASTERY! NYEHEHE!" He went like that for the next half an hour, in which time Tanya jumped into my lap and watched the energetic skeleton. I really didn't mind, though. I can see why Sans stopped me long enough to let his brother hit me. It was to help improve his confidence in a real fight.

What was bothering me was the voice. From what I could remember, it sounded like a child, around five or six, but full of malice and hate. And that just scared me. And I don't scare easily, but when I am afraid, it's for a good reason. And the reason for this is that it wants to push me towards murder.

I looked down to see Tanya snuggled up against my chest, a tiny snot bubble coming out of her nostril. I smiled and started stroking her head while she slept. Then she shifted and bit my hand in her sleep, not piercing the skin. Just, gnawing.

And around the time he was done with his speech, I was sleeping too.

Next time, then. You will obey…

I took off my jacket when we got to Sans and Papyrus' house, because it was pretty warm for ones who didn't have any skin. Or nerves. You know what, just stop questioning things, because all this will lead to is a very large headache. The explanation from now on is magic.

Paps had carried us over and layed me and Tanya on the couch. And after a little while, I awoke to see the lizard girl jumping on my stomach. "JamesJamesJamesWakeUp!" Grabbing her by the feet, I stopped the hyperactive child and sat up, checking my surroundings.

"I'm up, I'm up," I said. "What's going on? And slowly." She then took a very large breath.

"Well, we're in Papyrus' house with his brother, Sans, and now you're awake and you can teach me to fight!" She gave me an adorable, toothy grin at the last part.

Then, a burning smell entered my nose, causing me to almost hurl. Looking in the direction of the smell, I saw Papyrus over the stove. Getting up, I walked over to investigate, much to Tanya's annoyance. Inside the pot Papyrus was working on, much to my horror.

What looked like a large, destroyed pot filled with broken noodles and water that was on fire. There was another pot that had contents which were bubbling like crazy. I saw a box that said spaghetti. Oh sweet god…

"OH, HELLO GREY ONE AND TANYA!" Paps said with a cheerful smile. "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE BEEN MAKING SPAGHETTI FOR OUR SUPPER!" At that, Tanya and I both shared a look of worry for our stomachs.

"Grillby's?"

"Grillby's."

We then walked out and, being who we are, forgot that it was snowing outside. I looked over to Tanya, who was shivering, and saw that she had six inch long arms, very sharp claws at the end of them. We rushed inside and put back on our coats and walked to Grillby's.

Sitting down in a both, I got the two of us some burgers, which were simply amazing.

"So, Tanya," I said, causing the lizard girl to look up at me, face full of burger. "Why do you want to learn to fight from me? I mainly fight with my fists, you know."

"Well," She started. "I wanna be just like Undyne and protect the underground from evil humans, but she and Papyrus won't because I'm 'too young' to fight. But I'm old enough! I'm eight years old with a baby brother on the way! So I wanna be someone he can look up too! I… I know that it will be hard, but I've made up my mind, and nothing can change it!" I just sat there and evaluated her.

Her teeth would obviously be her best advantage, and her legs look extremely durable, meaning that she could push out some powerful kicks. But the obvious improvements would need to be for her arms and tail. Her absolute determination would obviously be a huge asset to her.

Swallowing, I looked at her and gave her a smile. "I'd love to teach you." She squealed in delight and rammed into me, nuzzling my chest.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" I laughed a little before prying her off of my body.

"I have two conditions, though. One, you listen to me at all times, unless I am wrong. And two, If you're in trouble, tell me right away." She nodded and continued her assault on my person. I then took off my bandana and put it around her head. "Are you ready to learn?"

"Hai-YA!" Tanya kicked me, but I blocked it with my forearms. She rushed at me, feinting with her tail and sweeping her legs at my feet. I jumped over and poked her on the forehead.

"Boop! I win." She stopped and slumped over.

"Awww… you always win…" I rubbed her head, making her swat at me with her tiny arms.

Me and Tanya have been training for about two weeks, and have been sleeping on the skeletons' couch. And while we will sometimes eat his pasta, I would get her a milkshake or nice cream afterwards. Most of the time, Sans just took us to Grillby's.

And the best part is that I had been getting information on our fish knight, and magic spears did not sound good.

But on the downside is that I'm running low on the magic face paint, with a few close calls under my belt.

My thoughts were destroyed as a certain lizard girl drop-kicked my face. And scales hurt!

"Hahaha! I got you! I got you! Haha… James?" 


End file.
